By Alex Cole
Photography by Tomas Muscionico

If you could imagine a hotel that combines the decadence of Las Vegas, the hipness of Los Angeles, the sunny sensuality of Miami, and urbanity of New York City, what would it look like?

That vision will be brought to life in The Ivy, a 159-room hotel in downtown San Diego that promises to set a new standard for luxury when it opens in early 2007.

“I tried to take the best elements from every place I’ve been to create a Las Vegas-style adult destination,” says Michael Kelly, chairman and CEO of Kelly Capital, developer of The Ivy. “We’re excited to bring this experience to San Diego.”

In early November, The Ivy, at the corner of Sixth and F streets, was an active construction site, where men in yellow hard hats carrying metal flashing, insulation and pipes could be seen through the exposed rafters, and a patina of canstruction dust covered everything. But touring the hotel-in-progress with charismatic and energetic Kelly, the $80 million project became a vivid reality.

“I love hotels and I love restaurants and dining,” Kelly says. “I thought I’d build a destination urban resort where you can do everything you can do in Las Vegas, New York or L.A.”

Only the brick façade of the historic Maryland Hotel is being preserved; the interior has been gutted to create a modern and opulent space designed by Dayna Lee and Ted Berner. The design team had extensive experience in film- and television-set design prior to creating Powerstrip Studio where they use their cinematic talents to bring the unusual and enexpected to reality. In addition to other projects around the country, they were the designers for W Los Angeles and W New Orleans.

The Ivy’s lobby will feature a glass-mosaic wall, massive walnut doors and woven leather-wrapped columns with corset style ties. A wall inlaid with mother-of-pearl makes a shimmering backdrop for a glass-enclosed elevator that leads down to the four-level ultra-lounge called Envy. The nightclub will feature eight bars and a DJ booth that floats above the dance floor. Envy will have a small VIP mezzanine since Kelly, who left college to build a fortune in mergers and acquisitions, isn’t into exclusivity.